Calabrian pine - a tree with an open crown, reaching 25-35 m in height. The bark in the lower part of the trunk is thick-scaly, red-brown, above - red-orange, thin, flaky cracking.
The buds are narrow-ovoid, with red-brown scales, covered with whitish pubescence. Needles persist for 2-4 years. Needles in bundles of 2 reach 10-18 cm in length, first gray-green, then bright green or yellow-green, with serrated edges.
Female strobiles are symmetrical, broadly conical, up to 12 cm long and up to 5 cm wide, green, after 2 years becoming red-brown and, in the same year or after 1-2 years, opening up to 5-8 cm. The scales are very stiff, broad, woody.
Seeds of gray-brown color, 7-8 Γ 5 mm, with a wide yellow-brown wing.
A typical variety of Calabrian pine is distributed from the south of the Balkan Peninsula in the north to Lebanon in the south. The range of Eldar pine ( P. brutia var. Eldarica ) extends from Transcaucasia to Iran . Calabrian pine pendulifolia is known only from the territory of silt Mugla in southwestern Turkey . Pitsunda pine ( P. brutia var. Pityusa ) is widespread in the Caucasus . In Crimea it is known as Pine Stankevicha .
